Rolex resurfaced after been stolen.

[JacksonRain]

Are you in USA.... Stolen goods cannot pass ownership, ignorance in good faith blah blah doesn't matter. seller selling goods stOLEN DID NOT haVE legal ownership rights so there you go. That guy had to go after the seller.... Welcome to the USA... IM not your lawyer by the way

[RJG]

I can't be the only person on this forum who's wondering about the specific model of Rolex in question here.

[Brny11]

Subscribed to follow the outcome.

Sorry you’re watch was stolen and even worse after it resurfaced, that you have to jump through hoops to get YOUR watch back. Awful situation I hope has a happy ending for everyone but the a**h*le who stole it.

[bondtoys]

Errrm, doesn‘t the bonafide doctrine only protect an „innocent buyer“ from criminal prosecution for owning stolen goods?

As far as I know, you can‘t legally own stolen goods. Period.
So a bonafide buyer may not be criminally charged but he legally still doesn‘t legally own the watch.

As others said, Rolex will only return the watch to the lawful owner and that eventually must be fought out in court.

[gary3535]

Guys have a look at Paul Thorpe on youtube he was a watch dealer that had a GMT stolen that went eventually went for service some years later , Rolex have his watch and won't seem to hand it back to him , hes going bananas to say the least ! these are not easy cases to resolve !

[JacksonRain]

Originally Posted by bondtoys

Errrm, doesn‘t the bonafide doctrine only protect an „innocent buyer“ from criminal prosecution for owning stolen goods?

As far as I know, you can‘t legally own stolen goods. Period.
So a bonafide buyer may not be criminally charged but he legally still doesn‘t legally own the watch.

As others said, Rolex will only return the watch to the lawful owner and that eventually must be fought out in court.

This in the USA

[winst]

OP - out of interest did you get an insurance payout for this watch? If you did my understanding is that the Insurance Company would be the legal owners now but you may be given the option by them to purchase the watch back from them at a preferential price?

[whatsthetime?]

C'mon, this is the most ridiculous question I've ever read.
If this post is true and you have all the documentation you claim you have, then why would you be asking "Can anyone offer advice or other avenues to recover my watch?" This actually makes you sound like you're the one who is trying to claim it without documentation. Why wouldn't you have already gone with your documentation and picked up your watch?

[RJG]

I did not know Rolex was gatekeeper on a suspected stolen watch. They do this? Where have I been? I had no idea that a Swiss manufacturing company would take this sort of legal spaghetti on.

[brandrea]

Welcome to the forum OP

[DJ2020]

I had a experience kind of like that myself. I had one of my watches stolen. Turned in a police report and insurance paid out the claim. About 3 months later I received a call from the police that they had recovered some property of mine.

I went to the police station and provided documents and pictures and it was returned to me. It was pawned at a local Pawn shop here in town. They told me at this point it was up to the Pawn shop to recover funds they laid out from the person who pawned it. Cool thing was, I notified the insurance company that I had recovered it. and ended up buying it from them for pennies on the dollar.

But that was all in state and a pawn shop, not Rolex.

[fsprow]

Rolex is not going to return a watch to anyone until this matter is adjudicated. Laws concerning this matter differ from area to area and I suggest retaining an experienced attorney to handle this.

[drblowfin]

In Uk stolen property remains property of original legal owner until it it legally sold. You cannot legally sell stolen goods, so even if bought in good faith it has to be returned to owner. No grey area there. The current ‘owner’ has committed a criminal offence by his handling of stolen property and could be prosecuted.


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[CalSRQ1]

Originally Posted by drblowfin

. The current ‘owner’ has committed a criminal offence by his handling of stolen property and could be prosecuted.


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If current owner purchased it innocently - sorry that’s false. Criminal offense requires intent.

[drblowfin]

Originally Posted by CalSRQ1

If current owner purchased it innocently - sorry that’s false. Criminal offense requires intent.

Actually no intent is needed to be proven. Handling stolen goods is an offence itself. Theft Act 1968. You are welcome!


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[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by drblowfin

Actually no intent is needed to be proven. Handling stolen goods is an offence itself. Theft Act 1968. You are welcome!


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The legislation that deals with this offence is the Theft Act 1968. Section 1(1) of the Theft Act 1968 states that: 'A person is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another, with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it. '

LPG1.1.04 Crime Theft Act 1968 - Met Policewww.met.police.uk › lpg1_1_04_theftact1968_snPDF

Receiving stolen goods absolutely requires intent in any jurisdiction.

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by drblowfin

Actually no intent is needed to be proven. Handling stolen goods is an offence itself. Theft Act 1968. You are welcome!


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So your UK law applies here in the US?
Didn't think so.

[1665fan]

That’s terrible you have to jump through all these hoops and BS to get your watch back....if it was an older datejust you would pay more for the lawyer than the watch is worth........if you have the police report it’s your watch

[jaisonline]

At least you know where it is. That’s huge and far better than most see.

Good luck

[DonRickles]

If not returned to the original claimant, why bother reporting a loss ....I mean how hard is for this "new" owner, to say "I didn't know it was hot merchandise".....?

Hope it's returned the OP!

[Marcjvr]

Sadly there doesn’t seem to be a scenario here where someone doesn’t get hurt in some way.

Maybe the current “owner” did indeed buy it on good faith from someone else who bought it in good faith, etc.

Regardless though, sounds like someone is going to end up getting burnt. Let’s hope it was the thief who committed the crime

[Jack T]

A lot of questions raised, the model watch, jurisdictions involved, timing of the theft, report and resale; and was it insured and compensation received? No further comments from the OP.

[Marcjvr]

Originally Posted by Jack T

A lot of questions raised, the model watch, jurisdictions involved, timing of the theft, report and resale; and was it insured and compensation received? No further comments from the OP.

Maybe/hopefully he’s busy dealing with a real lawyer rather than us keyboard warrior lawyers

[RJRJRJ]

Having the proof of purchase and a police report doesn't necessarily mean you still own it. Maybe you lost it in a poker game and got mad and filed a stolen report.

I would contact the police where you filed the report and see if they can do an investigation to try and get to the bottom of it.

[goodolejr]

Originally Posted by RJRJRJ

Having the proof of purchase and a police report doesn't necessarily mean you still own it. Maybe you lost it in a poker game and got mad and filed a stolen report.

I would contact the police where you filed the report and see if they can do an investigation to try and get to the bottom of it.

This is an interesting wrinkle I was thinking about as well.

[roora85]

how do you even know that the rolex that was stolen was in rolex service departments hands?

Do they let you know? or is there somewhere you can trace serial numbers?

[214270Explorer]

Jeebus. I hope this mess gets resolved easily.

[RoscoPico]

man what a mess. i would really want to communicate the current "owner" (not trying to be funny here) to see where he bought it.
i would expect Rolex to be accommodating as well.

[Stan Cooper]

Originally Posted by RoscoPico

man what a mess. i would really want to communicate the current "owner" (not trying to be funny here) to see where he bought it.
i would expect Rolex to be accommodating as well.

This. if the current "owner" has an invoice, bill of sale, or receipt from the entity that sold it to him, the identity of that entity might lead to whomever stole it.

[fixinbones]

Originally Posted by RoscoPico

man what a mess. i would really want to communicate the current "owner" (not trying to be funny here) to see where he bought it.
i would expect Rolex to be accommodating as well.

Yeah, I’d like to know if the current owner has a sales receipt from a reputable store? If they can prove they bought it unknowingly then shouldn’t the last seller have some responsibility in selling a stolen piece?
When I sold my bluesy to a reputable pawn store a few years ago he said he was required to submit the serial number to the police and of course had all my identification in case it turned up stolen. If it the current owner purchased it legitimately there should be some sort of paper trail.